


Nightmares

by Whovianimeniac



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: And a Hug, Blood and Violence, Dani doesn't exist yet, Ectoplasm, Friendship, Gen, Ghost Cores (Danny Phantom), How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Nightmares, Short One Shot, Sleep Deprivation, Sleepovers, Trauma, but people think it’s happening., danny needs therapy, no real abuse, sorry - Freeform, tucker and sam are more forgiving of danny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:22:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27740698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whovianimeniac/pseuds/Whovianimeniac
Summary: Something was wrong with Danny, something had been wrong for a long time but it was only now that people had begun to realize there might be something more than just a clumsy and lazy child.
Relationships: Danny Fenton & Jazz Fenton, Danny Fenton & Maddie Fenton, Danny Fenton & Sam Manson, Danny Fenton & Tucker Foley, Danny Fenton & Tucker Foley & Sam Manson
Comments: 7
Kudos: 161
Collections: Danny Phantom Server Prompt (Nightmares)





	Nightmares

He could feel their eyes follow him. Each gaze would focus on him as he passed, and the feeling of dread swelled up in his stomach every time he met another person’s eyes, only for them to look away as if they hadn’t been staring just moments before. In a way it almost made Danny wish that all the students of Casper High would look at him with anything other than pity or worry-he would rather have hate than the quiet stares of hundreds of teenagers following him as he slowly made his way to class.

He knew what was making them gawk, the reason Dash had begun to leave him alone, and why Lancer had begun to be a bit more forgiving when Danny was unable to produce his homework when asked in class. He had seen the reason every morning, for weeks before the other students had even thought to look at him close enough to notice. It had been almost too long before people had finally noticed how Danny was too thin for a boy his age, how he always arrived with his body beaten black and blue, and with bags under his eyes that seemed to only grow whenever he fell asleep in class.

Something was wrong with Danny, something had been wrong for a long time but it was only now that people had begun to realize there might be something more than just a clumsy and lazy child. Naturally the rumors began. Drugs, gangs, anything under the sun to explain why this child looked like his whole life was a battle. It seemed that the people who cared to think on such things would theorize about anything under the sky, and would discuss it with their friends or coworkers.

However the most plausible theory was one that nobody but his teachers felt comfortable speaking out loud to each other. Danny felt tempted to scream into the sky anytime a teacher asked him to stay behind and ‘talk’, or when Lancer sent him to the new school counselor during class in an attempt to have him open up to someone. It pained him that he couldn’t tell them why he was silent during these meetings.

Danny’s stomach began to feel wobbly as he continued the long walk to his next class. Although his heavy eyes were focused on the ground he could feel Sam and Tucker follow him, glaring at anyone who thought to get close enough to touch Danny. They each knew that in his current state he would be very jumpy. They were the only ones who even slightly knew what he was going through-but they couldn’t understand. Not completely.

They could never understand what it was like to be dead and for the one other person who was like you to try and kill you every time you met. To have to worry every time you saw your parents that this would be the day they discovered your secret. That they wouldn’t accept that it was a part of you. They would try to ‘fix’ you and you would be broken beyond repair until the moment you finally complete what their invention started. And while Danny knew Sam and Tucker were there for almost every adventure, they just weren’t affected by his life the way Danny was. And maybe Danny was in a strange mood from another night of little rest, but this knowledge tugged at him more than usual.

Danny arrived at his classroom having never looked up from where his gaze locked on the floor. As Danny entered the room he was finally able to raise his gaze only to jump at seeing Mr.Lancer standing directly in front of him. He took a moment to recompose himself before speaking.

“Can I help you?” Danny asked in a steady voice as Lancer just stood and looked at him quietly. It felt like ages before Mr.Lancer finally moved and allowed Danny to move to his seat. Mr.Lancer then moved to the front of the room, pulling out a book and turning to a page in the middle, proceeding to ignore the class as he waited for the bell to ring.

When the bell rang and Mr.Lancer finally began his class Danny slowly began to rest his head on his desk, deciding that taking a nap might be for the best as he began to drift off. A few minutes wouldn’t hurt.

\---

He was alone in his bedroom. School had finally ended and he was free to do whatever struck his fancy. He had already managed to finish what little homework had been assigned and was now playing DOOM with Sam and Tuck. He could tell his parents were upstairs ‘cooking’ in the kitchen from the sound of clanging pots and pans, and the sound of tiny war cries. Danny smirked a little at the sound of his father screaming that they needed to defeat the ecto-cheese.

Danny finished a level before he took off his headset and decided to close his eyes for a minute, leaning back in his chair and purely enjoying the simplicity of this moment. He stayed like that until he heard something behind him, a sound that had grown far too familiar and he instinctively rolled forward out of his seat and turned to face the buzzing of an ecto-foamer.

Behind him holding a large green and silver weapon was his mom. Said weapon was pointed towards Danny as his mother glared down at him.

“Where is my baby?” Maddie asked shrilly, moving closer to Danny. Danny’s eyes widened as he looked down to his hands noticing the pair of silver gloves that covered them. Danny Phantom quickly looked back up at his mother, shakily climbing to his feet and holding both palms out in a soothing gesture.

“Now Mo-Maddie. Please trust me, you don’t want to do this.” He said quickly, watching her move forwards cautiously before he blasted off towards the ceiling. Only to crash into it, falling back down to the ground. Danny hit his head on the desk as he landed in a heap on the floor, his eyes the widest they had ever been, and focused on a blaster that was directly in front of his face. His eyes began to sting as he watched his mother crouch down to his level and smile cruelly at him.

“That’s where you’re wrong Inviso-bill.” Maddie said good-naturedly. “I really do.”

Maddie lowered the blaser to his core. “Goodbye ghost kid.” Danny felt tears stream from his eyes as he watched her pull the trigger, slamming the blast through his newly exposed ribs. He watched as she pulled the blaster away marking it with a bold streak of lipstick. And he watched his core as it fell in little shattered pieces from out of his chest and laid itself on the ground in a beautiful pool of acid green that was pouring from a source that he couldn't identify. He clutched his stomach as a white light enveloped him and he saw his mother’s expression change from glee to confusion. He closed his eyes and let his vision fade from the red that had begun to fill it.

\---

Danny burst up from his seat, his eyes burning and his lungs overfull. He felt the tears from his dream streaming down his face and looked around himself, eyes running over the shocked faces of his classmates and teacher. The knowing looks his friends were sharing with each other. It was too much. With a quick mumbled apology Danny raced out of the room, out of the school, all the way to the park before he finally had to stop running and instead sat down on the grass wiping off his soaked face.

Danny stayed in that spot for a few more hours just staring at the sky and waiting for some form of interruption whether it was in the form of a ghost attack or some human walking by. It was when the sun was starting to set that he was finally found. Sam and Tucker walked up to him, neither saying a word. It was slightly unnerving for Danny to see them each offer him a hand in silence, having expected them to be angry he had run off or to ask if he was alright.

Danny took their hands and let them pull him to his feet. He whispered a quiet apology to them as they put their arms over his shoulders and began to walk him out of the park. The two acknowledged his apology by once more taking his hands and giving him a little smile. The three walked back to Danny’s house hand in hand and up to his room, his parents not even noticing the late time or the quiet mood of the group.

Sam and Tucker were obviously doing their best to make Danny feel better as they all built a pillow and blanket fort, Jazz joining them halfway through its construction. As Sam and Tucker called their parents to tell them they were staying over at Danny’s house-and Sam having to promise to go shopping with her mother willingly in exchange for staying-Danny and Jazz went downstairs to make popcorn for the group.

Each of Danny’s friends piled into the fort, arms draped over Danny as Jazz turned on a movie on her laptop and they all fell asleep in a big pile of pillows and blankets, popcorn spread out in front of them and Tucker’s snoring filling the room.

Danny hadn’t slept this peacefully since before the accident.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry it’s so short but I had a lot of fun making it! (And to the people in my Discord that read this... thank you for letting me join this event!)


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